Intimate wedding: Officiants??

[hiwaygal]

Just wondering if any of you have recommendations for an officiant? Who did you have and what did you like about them, what didn't you like? I'm having a hard time deciding...

 

[Merandab4]

We originally had Rev. Jack Day, but he had to cancelle because he had to have back surgery. He suggested to us to contact Rev. Tim Herring. I've talked to both of them on the telephone about our ceremony and both were great. I did not have a lot of interaction with Rev. Tim on our actually wedding day, but my parents commented on how nice he was. I did really like how he performed our ceremony and would reccomend him.

I also heard Rev. Knoxx is good. Disney will send you a packet with a list of officiants that they use. Good Luck.

 

[hiwaygal]

Thanks for your reply!

I have contacted (via email) Rev. Knox, Rev. Day, and Rev. Herring. I got one response so far (it hasn't even been 24 hours yet) from Rev. Knox. I'm very impressed with the materials he sent to me. He included in his email a summary of services and a very impressive, well thought out Ceremony Planning "kit"...it's a word document that really helps you decide what kind of ceremony to have, and how you can personalize it. It is fantastic! It's over 50 pages long! If any of you would like a copy, let me know and I'll email it to you! From what I understand, all the officiants will customize the ceremony for you as long as you know what you want!

Still looking forward to hear which officiant others have had and why they liked them, or why they didn't!

 

[Merandab4]

I think Rev Knox would be a great choice. If you would like to see him in action, I would suggest watching some of the ceremonies he has performed. Stan from STVS video has some on his site. I will go look for some now and come back and post the link for you.

 

[Merandab4]

You can go to this site to see disney wedding videos and check out how each officiant performs their ceremonies. http://www.stvsweddings.com/gallery/

The first one on the page (Amanda and Vincent) is performed by Rev. Tim. So is the one below is, (Sabina and Stephen)

If you want to see Rev. Jack, Watch Mendy and Scott, Sammantha and Paul, or Erika and Kevin.

To see Rev. Knoxx, watch Danielle and Christian. Rev. Knoxx also does other ceremonies on this site, but I can't remember wich ones they are. From what I've seen, I do like his style and I don't think you will be dissapointed.

 

[tinkerbela]

our officiant was ron rosenzweig. he's a great guy. very kind and will definitely work with you. his service is beautiful. he will send you a copy of his service and you can add or take out whatever you want. he's a great guy. i recommend him.

 

[Firefly Girl]

We used Rev Knox, we really liked him. He and his wife were both great in helping to plan our ceremony and were very easy to work with. He was great on our wedding day, a very nice, sincere man.

 

[hiwaygal]

Thanks so much for finding those links for me! I'm sure it will help!

I also heard from Rev. Tim today.

It's kind of hard to choose long distance, you know? I mean, I'm kinda basing my initial decision based on who "looks" the part! I'm sure any and all of them will be wonderful (they are recommended by Disney after all)!

We are looking for something kinda fun, relaxed, charming, romantic...maybe a little bit of religion, but not too religious.

Thanks also to tinkerbela and Firefly Girl for your recommendations!

 

[MrsTink04]

We used Rev. Jack Day. We absolutely LOVED him. He really worked with us to get the ceremony we wanted and put us very much at ease on the day of the wedding. I HIGHLY recommend him!

 

[NCDisneyMom]

My sister and her husband used Rev. Day for their wedding in 2001. They loved him. Obviously, I only met him the day of the wedding, but he was extremely nice. He really worked with them on the details of the wedding (i.e. what they wanted to include, or not include). Their wedding was just 10 days after 9/11, and he totally recognized the conflicting emotions of the day, and gave them an absolutely beautiful ceremony.

 

[hiwaygal]

I really appreciate everyone's input on this...it's so hard to pick an officiant knowing you really won't meet them until the actual wedding (at least in my case). And in a way, it's kinda sad to not have some sort of friendship or personal relationship with the person who's going to marry you, know what I mean?

Unfortunately, Rev. Jack was not available for my date, which was kinda disappointing, he was a cute old man!

Rev. Knox responded quickly to my original request, and sent wonderful information so we selected him. Now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that he is still available!

Thanks again everyone!

 

[J and R's mom]

We originally selected our officiant based on phone calls and some e-mails. I then saw the officiants on some sample video tapes from videographers and realized that the person I booked with just wasn't what I was looking for. He sounded nice on the phone, but the ceremony I watched seemed so blah, as if he'd done it hundreds of times (which, of course, he had) and was just going through the motions. He even sounded snippy at one point. So I canceled with him and chose someone else WHOM WE ABSOLUTELY LOVED. She was wonderful in every way. She made the day and ceremony SO special. Her name was Sherry Gustoffsen (sp?), but I don't know if she's on the list anymore. That was over six years ago.

Anyway, my advice is to try and find a video on one of the links provided with the officiant that you pick and make sure that s/he performs the services in a manner that you're comfortable with.

Good luck and best wishes on your upcoming marriage.

 

[hiwaygal]

Thanks so much for the advice. What happened to you is exactly what I was worried about! Merandab4 posted a great link above to do precisely what you suggested! The site is fantastic!!

I was able to watch both Rev. Tim and Rev. Knox. The only thing that really bothered me about Rev. Knox was his hair! It was kinda sticking up in the back in one video! Oh well, I don't think I'll be seeing the back of his head...but you know, if his hair is sticking up like that on my day and I see it...I just know I'm gonna lose it!!

 

[angey77]

I'm kinda basing my initial decision based on who "looks" the part!

You sound like me when I was looking for my officient. I originally contacted Rev. Jack, since he was the first on the list Disney sent me and he had a web site. I know this is horrid, but I did not want someone who I could not see online, because I wanted them to "look the part." I didn't want someone who looked like a televangelist. I wanted older, nice statured, grey haired man with robes! I know, weird, huh? Little details you always picture? Oh, and they had to have a wonderful projection to their voice (one of my friends got married and the poor priest sounded like Elmer Fudd and the only reason she did not cry was because she was concentrating on not laughing).
Anyway, Rev. Jack was booked, so I contacted Rev. Tim who turned out to be PERFECT! We loved him. I'm beginning to think Rev. Jack being booked was divine intervention. We even drove to Orlando for a "planning weekend" and he met with us ... even with Hurricane Jeanne shutting down everything around us. He is so sweet, a great family man and knows just what to say, while not making you feel uncomfortable with too much mushy stuff. He even made some subtle funnies during our ceremony to put everyone at ease and enjoy themselves. Oh, and his voice fit my prerequisites too! He is great, and I highly recommend him. And an added bonus, he's photogenic too!